i play the piccolo and just recently i`ve started having problems with my headjoint being loose.. it hasn`t been droped or anything so i`m not sure what happened to it. but anyways i was told to use cork grease on it.. is there any truth to that? or is there anything else you know that would be a fairly quick fix? (don`t have time to take it to a shop we have a competition saturday)

What kind of picc? Metal, wood, resin? Cork grease is not necessarily a good idea unless there is actually cork there like in many upper range, professional model piccs. If it does have cork, it may be dried out and the cork grease will take care of it. If it has a metal tenon though, a quick fix would be some plumber`s tape (teflon tape) from someplace like Home Depot. It`s not sticky, so it won`t leave any residue. Wrap a bit around the tenon before you insert it into the barrel and it should do you ok until you get it to a shop and have it looked at.

If the joint has no cork involved, then cork grease can actually force a good fit into being a poor fit. It does this if it is just the right viscosity `claim space` while at the same time providing excellent lubrication. The claiming of space can be sufficient to shrink the tenon or expand the socket. It is only very slight, but enough to make the joint loose.

It is rather unlikely that there will be enough room in a loose tenon to accommodate teflon tape, although this tape is excellent for taking up looseness in a CORKED type of tenon.

A well-equipped repair technician will have a specialised tool for slightly expanding the tenon in a controlled manner, and another tool for shrinking it should it be over-expanded. It should take only a few minutes.

if you`re top joint is coming loose...what you really should do, and this will sound gross...but a pic player in my section had it happen to her. Let it get dirty...like dont clean it. Let some residue build up on and in the joint. if you play it on a daily basis it will build up dark film and it should be fine.

On poor quality alloys this MAY happen quite quickly. On good quality alloys it may take decades.

If it is loose, then it leaks air. Even tiny air leaks affect a piccolo, especially for the low notes. Corrosion cannot be relied upon for a good seal.

well a girls piccolo was sent out to be cleaed and when she got it back the top joint was a little loose (meaning it moved easier...) and our first chair flute player told her that, and it worked for her, but different senareo im guessing.

hope you get it fixed! piccolo problems are the worst.

thank you! mine isn`t really a poor quality one.. it`s a yamaha YPC30. again.. thanks for the help!!!

In my experience Yamaha uses alloys which resist corrosion very well.

ok thank you!